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Fire in Girardville sends father, two children to hospital

Crews and neighbors help rescue family from roof.

GIRARDVILLE, Pa. — A fire in Schuylkill County gutted one part of a double block home Friday morning, sending a father and two children to the hospital.

The Fire Chief in Girardville says the three of them and the children's mother had to be rescued from the roof of their house.

Pictures taken by Skook News shows smoke billowing from one part of this double block home at 217 West Main Street in Girardville.

The Girardville Fire Chief says the call for the fire came in around 8 o'clock in the morning.

Neighbors say the smoke could be seen throughout the borough.

“I was standing here and I could see smoke billowing out the windows from the second floor. I was like, oh where's the flames at?” said Denise Wise, who lives two block away.

Ed Burns came out to the fire scene to see if there was anything he could do to help, as both a Girardville Council Member and as a Girardville native and neighbor.

"I was born and raised here. I wanted to know if they need help. I'm not a fireman,” said Burns. “They did a good job, the firemen, very good job. From what I saw of it.”

The fire chief says when crews arrived on the scene, a family of four: mother, father, and two children were on the roof.

Fire crews were able to rescue them.

The chief says the two children, a 14-year-old boy, and an 11-year-old girl were flown to Lehigh Valley Cedar-Crest with smoke inhalation.

Their father was driven to the same hospital with smoke inhalation and burns.

They are all expected to be okay.

The mother was taken to the hospital as a precaution but did not need to stay.

The chief says he gave her two boxes of new clothes for her family, from a clothing drive.

Neighbors say after a year of living through the pandemic, to have the first day of the new year start this way is more than heartbreaking for the family and this community.

"The way the country is, the pandemic, and then we're coming into the new year. And we're getting hit my this,” said Burns.

The Girardville Fire Chief says both he and a state police fire marshal investigated the cause of the fire.

It was determined to be accidental, caused by a space heater.

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